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Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. [1] Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
The term "environmental toxin" can sometimes explicitly include synthetic contaminants [26] such as industrial pollutants and other artificially made toxic substances. As this contradicts most formal definitions of the term "toxin", it is important to confirm what the researcher means when encountering the term outside of microbiological contexts.
A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other living beings. [a]
In broad metaphorical (colloquial) usage of the term, "poison" may refer to anything deemed harmful. In biology, poisons are substances that can cause death, injury, or harm to organs, tissues, cells, and DNA usually by chemical reactions or other activity on the molecular scale, when an organism is exposed to a sufficient quantity.
By contrast, a toxin is a poison produced naturally by an organism (e.g. plant, animal, insect). [2] The 2011 book A Textbook of Modern Toxicology states, "A toxin is a toxicant that is produced by a living organism and is not used as a synonym for toxicant—all toxins are toxicants, but not all toxicants are toxins.
The botulinum toxin, which is primarily produced by Clostridium botulinum and less frequently by other Clostridium species, is the most toxic substance known in the world. [1] However, microbial toxins also have important uses in medical science and research.
Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. [1] Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance faster than it can be lost or eliminated by catabolism and excretion.
Additionally, it can refer to the period of drug withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In medicine , detoxification can be achieved by decontamination of poison ingestion and the use of antidotes as well as techniques such as dialysis and (in a limited number of ...